Parents Welcome to Kids Answers!
Kids Mode 

Treasure in the Rocks

Art by David Leonard

Wanders in Creation

on January 1, 2025
Audio Version

Join Eva and Andy Wander as they travel the world with their parents—Dad, a geologist, and Mom, a photographer—exploring the wonders of God’s creation.

“So, Dad.” Andy tossed a rock into the lake. “What exactly are we supposed to do while Mom takes pictures at Isle Royale without us?"

Dad laughed. “Lake Superior is your playground for the next few days. You can hike, swim, skip rocks—or help me collect samples to take back to the lab.”

Eva wrinkled her brow. “Swim?” She bent to dip her fingertips in the foamy waves. “Dad, this water is seriously cold.”

“Okay, ditch the swimming idea. But you still have a bunch of options.” Dad stretched his arms wide and turned toward the water. “It’s not every day you get the chance to camp alongside the largest freshwater lake in North America.”

“Yeah, but Mom gets to have all the fun,” Andy muttered, dragging his toe through the tiny pebbles at the water’s edge. “I mean, riding in a seaplane to a remote island? To photograph wolves? Seriously cool!”

Dad slung an arm across Andy’s shoulders. “I know you wanted to go along with her, but there are some safety restrictions for the type of work she’s doing this weekend. Besides, we have plenty of amazing things to see right here at our campsite.”

“Andy, look!” Eva pointed to the distance. “Loons!” She sprinted toward some boulders along the shore.

Andy took off after his sister, but before he reached the boulders, his left foot caught a slick spot on the rocks. His sandal came off, and the waves pulled it under

“No!” Andy cried as he waded into the ice-cold water to rescue it. By the time he scrambled, soaking wet, to the top of the boulders to join Eva, the loons were gone.

“Oh man, it was so cool,” Eva said, staring at the screen on the little digital camera Mom had let her borrow. “The loon had a baby, and she was trying to teach it how to dive. Look how cute it was!” Eva shoved the camera in front of Andy, but he pushed it away.

“Where’d they go?” he asked, scanning the waves.

“They dove under the water when the bald eagle flew over,” Eva said, scrolling to the next photo. “It came from the trees, and—Ooo! Look at this shot!”

“Mom gets to see wolves, and Eva saw loons and a bald eagle, but I haven’t seen anything.”

“You mean I missed out on wolves, loons, and a bald eagle?” Andy kicked a chunk of rock toward the water with a frustrated growl. Everything about this trip was going wrong. He stomped back to their campsite and plopped down on a stretch of pebbles near Dad.

“How’s it going?” Dad asked, studying the contents of his strainer. Several plastic bags lay near his feet. Each bag held rock samples with labels that said things like rhyolite, basalt, flint, and red jasper.

Andy squeezed water from his shirt. “I’m officially done with this trip.”

Dad looked up from his work. “What happened?”

“I’ve missed out on all the cool stuff!”

“Like what?” Dad asked.

“Mom gets to see wolves, and Eva saw loons and a bald eagle, but I haven’t seen anything!”

Dad resumed sifting through the rocks. “You know, Andy, missing out on a couple of animal sightings doesn’t mean you’re missing out on everything.”

Andy tried not to groan. “Dad, wolves are way more exciting than rocks.”

“We’re going to try something new.” Dad handed a blue plastic pail to Andy. “I’m going to set a timer for 10 minutes while you search the beach for unique rocks.”

“Like a treasure hunt?” Andy wrinkled his nose. “Exactly. When the timer goes off, meet me back here.”

“But what does this have to do with seeing animals?”

Dad just smiled. “Ready?” He pushed a button on his watch.

“Go!”

Andy stared into his pail for a moment before pulling himself to his feet. “I just wanted to see wolves,” he muttered as hetrudged toward the lake. “And now I get to stare at rocks.” The pail bumped against his hip as he walked, making a hollow sound. When he reached the water’s edge, Andy crouched down and began picking up rocks.

Andy and Dad with rocks in a bucket

Art by David Leonard

A small tan one.

A big red one.

A chunky gray one.

Thunk-thunk-thunk. They all went in his bucket.

When Dad shouted that time was up, Andy’s pail was more than half full.

“Okay.” Dad rubbed his hands together as Andy approached the picnic table. “Let’s see what you found!”

Andy emptied his pail onto the table and frowned at how ordinary all his rocks looked. “See?” he said, throwing his hands up. “Nothing about this trip is going right. I can’t even find cool rocks.” When he looked up, he was surprised to see a giant grin on Dad’s face.

“Are you sure about that?” Dad asked. “Because it looks like you found treasure to me.”

“What?” Andy looked back down at the boring, dull rocks. “Where?”

Dad plucked a tan rock from the pile.

“That isn’t treasure,” Andy said, poking theunremarkable rock in his dad’s palm.

“Watch.” Dad pulled out his rock pick and with a swift tap broke the rock in half.

Andy’s eyes widened at the sight of red and white bands inside the rock. The bands swirled together in a mesmerizing pattern. “What is it?”

Dad smiled. “It’s called an agate.” He reached into his toolbox. “I have one more cool thing to show you.” He pulled out what looked like a flashlight. “This is a UV light. Watch.” When he pointed the light at the pile, two of the rocks lit up like fire.

Andy gasped.

“You found a couple Yooperlite specimens,” Dad said, handing Andy the flashlight. “They’re rocks that contain a fluorescent mineral called sodalite. They’re almost impossible to find on a beach without a light like this one.”

“Wow,” Andy said, picking one up and turning it over. “They look like they’re glowing from the inside!” He turned the UV light off and on again to watch the Yooperlite light up. “How can such a normal-looking rock be so amazing?”

Dad placed a hand on Andy’s shoulder. “I know you missed out on wolves and eagles, but if you look around, you’ll find that all of nature gives us wonderful glimpses of God's creativity.”

Andy set the Yooperlite down on the table and sighed. “I’m sorry I was such a grump, Dad.”

“Hey, guys!” Eva yelled, holding up a rock several yards away. “Let’s have a rock skipping contest.”

“Wait!” Andy jumped up with the flashlight. “Let’s shine a light on that rock!”

What’s the Point?

About 4,500 years ago, God judged mankind's sin by sending a worldwide flood to destroy the earth. Agates and Yooperlites probably formed at the start of the global flood when the waters were heated by catastrophic volcanic eruptions that the Bible describes as “the fountains of the great deep” being broken up. Then during the post-flood ice age, when the temperatures cooled, the rocks were moved by glaciers all around the Great Lakes area.

Kids Answers Magazine

God’s Cool Gift of Ice

From gigantic glaciers to the cubes in your cup, ice makes life cool!

Browse Kids Issue